Drag and drop images for 3D printing

This piece of software called OmNomNom works with OpenSCAD to turn 2D images into 3D models. It’s literally a drag-and-drop process that renders almost instantly.

Here the example is a QR code, which is perfect for the software since it’s a well-defined black and white outline in the source image. But the video after the break shows several other examples that don’t rely on this simplicity. For instance, the Superman logo, which uses four different colors, is converted quite easily. There’s also a depth map of [Beethoven’s] bust that is converted into a 3D object. The same technique can be used to create terrain from topographic source images.

Once the file has been converted to a model it can still be tweaked like normal. This allows you to customize size and depth to suit your needs. This is where OpenSCD comes into play, but if you don’t use that program you can still export an STL file directly from OmNomNom for use on your 3D printer.

To all the Mac-negative comments… there are 3d printers that work with Mac computers so that you can make DIY sculptures, proptotypes and really anything you can imagine. They are pricey, but hey like someone said, “if I had enough money to buy a Mac…”
Blah blah blah, Macs are SOOO expensive, blah blah. Buy a used one from 4 years ago and it is still better than a brand new PC because of the hardware alone.
Now start making 3d stuff!

I fail to see how Macs (being UNIX based) are not for DIY when you can install Linux or Windows on Macs. WTF? If anything they are the MOST open because you can run all three OSes on them without any modification.

And even people that like apple are driven to desperation as to why other manufacturers don’t supply decent displays to compete.
I saw a review on anands of a new $1300 acer ultrabook that has a display from 15 years ago, madness..

And it’s samsung that makes those retina displays, and yet you won’t see them anywhere but in apple products, WTF.

I agree more or less with the first part, the second part im not so sure about – and it makes you sound as one-sided as the anti-mac comments (and i dont think you meant it to come out like that, but i could be wrong :-)

Is there a similar application for PC? I can already extrude 2d images… but it takes more effort than I’d like; I want to be able to output large amounts of extruded barcodes for 3d printing, and doing them one by one is not feasible.

I have my RepRap hooked up to my Macbook, the Pronterface interface has better support for OSX than Windows so my Macbook finally got to boot into OSX instead of Windows :)

I’m actually not a big fan of Apple, my Macbook is my only Apple product and I usually run Windows on it. I even bought it second hand so Apple wouldn’t receive my money directly :P

To the people that think Mac’s are unsuited for DIY or hacking – you don’t know what you’re talking about. They are just as suitable as Windows, if not more so, because you can easily install a linux-style build toolchain ala gcc/g++/glibc.

I’ll agree with this to an extent: for minimal-resource hackery such as 3D printing or coding for embedded platforms, Macs are probably fine.

But i’ll tell ya, I had an early 2011 Macbook Pro with maxed out specs (almost spent $3k ffs!) for about a year. That thing was garbage for anything processor or graphics intensive. Any sort of load on the CPU or GPU caused the fans to spin up like jet engines, reach max temp(s) within a minute, and throttle the processor(s) that left it crawling along.

I didn’t have a defective notebook. It’s all over the Apple forums, with similar issues arising with earlier macbooks too.

I just recently sold that macbook and bought an Asus UX32VD ultrabook, and it outperforms the mac in almost every way, maybe except graphics prowess. But with the jet engine fans, and sizzling palm rests, it was a PITA to use the macbook for graphics or gaming anyway. At least this ultrabook stays quiet while its chugging along =)

I’m the developer who developed OmNomNom Creator. I suppose if the only things people are complaining about are that it’s written for mac and has a lousy name, then I’ve done pretty well :-)

Just to explain the reasoning…

The name is a reference to cookies, mainly because it was originally designed for cookie cutters, and ended up morphing into something more capable. If you don’t understand that reference, search for OmNomNom on the web for more information. Essentially it’s what it’s called, bad or not, just like the name you’re given at birth :-)

Regarding the Mac / Windows debate. It’s about time that Mac users get something, after all we suffer when windows users or web developers don’t consider mac.

I develop both for windows and mac, but rarely develop for windows these days. Why? Mac hardware is generally more reliable, it’s quicker to develop for, it has more whizzy capabilities like Core Image that was used heavily in this app. Frankly if it was written for windows, it would look like crap, work like crap, taking 4 times longer to get working well, and 8 times longer to look comparable.

Regarding it not being open source, I don’t want to open source it yet.

This is “nearly” a commercial grade app for free, you’re not being charged and if you don’t like it because you don’t have the hardware to run it, that’s fine too, rewrite it yourself for windows.

Ugh, you’re one of those developers? As far as I am concerned, your breed is worse than the non-programmer Apple fanbois! Not many folks in the DIY 3D printing community care if it “looks cool” but just that it works right. The whole “it looks good so its a good application” is an Apple-bred mentality, and one that poorly serves the DIY community.

>Ugh, you’re one of those developers? As far as I am
>concerned, your breed is worse than the non-programmer
>Apple fanbois!

It’s free, it didn’t cost you and I’ll develop for the platform that makes most economic sense for myself.

If you think about it, when a windows developer prefers to develop for mac, there’s a reason for it. For me, it’s quicker to develop, it’s more stable, it’s more capable and the Spit and Polish comes for free.

If it was commercial, then I would consider a cut down version for windows due to there being a large (albeit dwindling) windows base out there.

You obviously don’t like that it’s mac only, and it’s unreasonable to expect me to put weeks of work in for free to satisfy your wishes so:
1. Write something like it yourself for windows users
2. Buy a mac
3. Don’t use the software

There’s plenty of mac only and windows only software out there, but I suppose it’s only an issue when you want something that isn’t on your platform. :-)

And saying Mac users aren’t DIY’s is crazy. When I switched, my productivity went up. Personally I’d rather not spend my time trying to keep my machine together from the latest virus, bloated software and stability issues. Not that I can’t, just that it’s an incredible time waster. Not saying Mac is perfect by any means, but overall my time is valuable to me.

Ah, the mac / windows / linux debate. I’ve used all of them, as a user, sys admin and developer. I’d rate them in this order, Mac, linux and windows. That’s the way I look at it, you have other criteria that are different, that’s fine too.

I didn’t say they’re superior, but they are for this task for myself
and I’ll develop the app to my criteria not yours as it’s free and it’s my time that has a cost to me.
If you want to run Microsoft Exchange, then windows is definitely the better fit.

If you would like to pay for it to be developed on windows, that can be arranged too ;-)

It always amazes me when “some” people attach zero value to software. For example, $100 for a piece of hardware is cheap, for software it’s expensive, because after all it’s just bits and bytes that can be copied for free. Unfortunately this also stretches to open source and public domain software where people feel they have a right to demand features or compability on other platforms FOC. Software takes REAL time and resources to develop and doesn’t get created magically.

The only reason I prefer Mac over linux is that it’s more user centric for the average user, has a lot of nice tools and is freebsd, but both are unix under the hood.

Generalizing that DIY’s prefer windows / linux without qualification or a definition of DIY is really meaningless and from
my experience inaccurate.

Open source is more available and easier to get running on Linux or Mac than windows. Much of OSX is open source, all of linux is (not so on windows).

I can tell you from my experience that most makerbot owners do not use linux, some do but very few. Windows versus Mac usage, would be more closely tied to the amount of Windows and Mac installs out there, with a bias towards mac in that community.

I’ve generally been finding that within the last 2 years there have been more and more switchers to Mac which follows what is happening more generally.

The Mac vs PC discussion isn’t really worth continuing, but I’d like to just point out one thing about this comment:

I believe the main reason that perceived value is different for hardware vs software (at least from a development standpoint) is that (a) it can be argued that software and hardware take the same amount of time to develop and (b) versioning/iterations of hardware cost money, while versioning software is essentially free (and both incur costs in the form of development time).